OTTAWA, Ontario – He seemed lost, “didn’t fit in,” and went more than five years without seeing his mother. In recent weeks, he talked about wanting to go to Libya to get away from drugs but griped that he couldn’t get a passport.
A picture began to emerge Thursday of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau a day after the 32-year-old Canadian launched a deadly attack on Canada’s seat of government that forced the country to confront the danger of radicalized citizens in its midst.
In what the prime minister called a terrorist attack, Bibeau – a recent convert to Islam and a petty criminal with a long rap sheet, including a string of drug offenses – shot a soldier to death at Canada’s tomb of the unknown Wednesday, then stormed the Parliament building, where he was gunned down by the sergeant-at-arms.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed Thursday that Zehaf-Bibeau – whose father was from Libya and whose mother was Canadian – had applied recently for a passport. But RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said authorities learned from his mother after the attack that he actually wanted to travel to Syria.
“His application was not rejected. His passport was not revoked. He was waiting to get it and there was an investigation going on to determine to see whether he would get a passport,” Paulson said.
Earlier this week, the Mounties said that there are about 90 people in the country who are suspected of intending to join the extremist fighting abroad or who have returned from such activity overseas. But Paulson said Thursday that Zehaf-Bibeau was not among them.
In an email to the AP expressing horror and sadness at what happened, Zehaf-Bibeau’s mother, Susan Bideau, said that her son seemed lost and “did not fit in,” and that she hadn’t seen him for more than five years until having lunch with him last week.
“So I have very little insight to offer,” she said.
In a brief and tear-filled telephone interview with the AP, Bibeau said that she is crying for the victims of the shooting rampage, not her son.
After initially reporting that two or three assailants may have taken part in the shooting rampage, Canadian police conceded Thursday that Zehaf-Bibeau was the lone gunman.
The bloodshed raised fears that Canada is suffering reprisals – perhaps so-called lone-wolf attacks – for joining the U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria.
On Monday, a man described as an “ISIL-inspired terrorist” ran over two soldiers in a parking lot in Quebec, killing one and injuring the other before being shot to death by police.
Before the attack, Canadian authorities feared he had had jihadist ambitions and seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey.
Preime Minister Stephen Harper noted that both attacks were carried out by citizens born in Canada.
“The fact of the matter is there are serious security threats in this country and in many cases those serious security threats continue to be at large and not subject to detention or arrest,” he said.
Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party, said in Parliament that this week’s attacks were probably “the acts of isolated, disturbed and deeply troubled men who were drawn to something crazy.”
Paulson appeared to agree in Zahef-Bibeau’s case, saying that his history of crime, violence, drugs and “mental instability” contributed to his radicalization.
Court records that appear to be Zehaf-Bibeau’s show that he had a long record, with convictions for assault, robbery, drug and weapons offenses, and other crimes.
Meanwhile, Kevin Vickers, the 58-year-old Parliament sergeant-at-arms credited with shooting and killing Zehaf-Bibeau, got a rousing standing ovation in the House of Commons for saving lawmakers’ lives. Vickers, dressed in his ceremonial robe and carrying his heavy mace, acknowledged the applause by nodding solemnly.
The former Mountie said in a statement that he was “very touched” by the attention but that he has the close support of a remarkable security team.
